spl tie rod install gone wrong

[singlecamslam]

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE!!.So you would thing installing some tie rods is pretty simple right? well it is, everything went smoothly except the end result. For some reason after i centered the rack out the passenger side tie rod is adjusted almost all the way out, i'm afraid to adjust it any longer, while the driver side is fine. Both wheels get the same amount of angle too. This is on a s13 with s14 knuckles and control arms. Heres some pictures. http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020308.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020310.jpg

[fliprayzin240sx]

You sure you got your steering wheel centered???

Wait if you got S14 knuckles and LCA, did you order Tie rods for S14s?

[FaLKoN240]

...how does that even happen? You're using Z32 inners? Or are you using the new set up with Z33?

[singlecamslam]

I'm using the new set with the z33 inners. And the website for spl says s13/14 so i'm guessing it works for both? I'm sure i centered it right because i get a little over 1 and 1/2 turns each way. I emailed SPL asking if i needed to order the setup for the s14 rather s13 but i really dont think that matters.

[bfellini]

center the rack to the tie rods, then remove and replace steering wheel,.,,done

[singlecamslam]

^ what? The way i centered the rack is counted the turns it takes to go from lock to lock and divided by 2, thats the way i always do it.

[irax]

are you sure your frame is straight?

[singlecamslam]

Well now i'm not sure. The car was crubed before the tie rod install, and i had to replace the control arm, but i dont think that could of done this much damage. Everything bolts up straight into its place and i did some measurements and everything looks fine. Dont really know whats up with this.

edit: car was curbed on the drivers side at 10MPH.

[irax]

what does your crossmember look like?

[singlecamslam]

Straight, hit wasnt hard enough to damage it. I'm gonna look at it again and take some pictures of it though.

[racepar1]

It sure sounds to me like the steering rack is not centered. Count the turns from center to full lock in either direction. The steering wheel should be in the exact opposite position when it is locked in either direction.

[singlecamslam]

I though it wasnt centered too, but the thing is right now it hits the bump stops from lock to lock perfectly and theres like 2mm clearance from the tie rod shank and the control arm on both sides. I'll take pictures later on to show what i'm talking about. I am going to make sure the rack is centered again though. Also my steering wheel was put on crooked anyways so i dont know where the center is thats why i counted the turns and took half of it. Is there a better way to center it not knowing where the center of the wheel is?

[FaLKoN240]

Another thing you should fix is having it threaded out from the joint.

The adjuster should always be threaded up to the ball joint and only the tie rod's length should be adjusted for alignment.

[singlecamslam]

SPL instructions say thats how its supposed to be, its preset that way for reasons i dont know. heres the link i followed. SPL Parts (http://splparts.com/doc/SPLTieRodEnd/default.htm)

[FaLKoN240]

SPL instructions say thats how its supposed to be, its preset that way for reasons i dont know. heres the link i followed. SPL Parts (http://splparts.com/doc/SPLTieRodEnd/default.htm)

Oh wow, they didn't have that write up when I had mine :(

Oh well.

It's honestly an overkill part, but whatever..

[Forge_55b]

assuming the tie rods are the same length on both ends (you should measure it just in case?) if you want to at least guess what the center of the rack is I think you can just pop off the tie rod boots and see how much is sticking out? someone please correct me if I am wrong because its been a while since i installed my tie rods.......if the racks centered which I think by now he is pretty sure of it being there or at least close, somethings bent up most likely, what tho? who knows really, could be anything

[mad-ass]

might be stupid that I ask this..

do you have angle spacer on one side and not on the other?

just digging for more possibilities.

I know FSM has a bit long section on steering itself. check it out maybe?

[mestizo]

The pics of the tie rod install on SPL site are my pics from my install.

Did you just visually center the steering wheel or did u actually center the rack and when I say center the rack I mean actually equal out the racks length from the rack housing on both sides? If the rack is not set at an equal length on both side it would cause the problem you are having.

[singlecamslam]

I cant use the steering wheel to center out because it was crooked from the beginning so i left it alone. Should i have popped off the boots and center it that way? By measuring the length on both side of the housing? I just counted turns when i did it.

[mestizo]

Yes pull the dust boots off and center it by equaling out the rack on both sides of the housing. Once they are equal your rack is dead center and your tie rods will be almost the same length depending on your alignment specs.

[singlecamslam]

Ok so i went to look at the car today and the rack was centered right on. I took pictures:
heres the pictures showing that its centered or close to it.http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020318.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020319.jpgheres some random pics, maybe you guys can spot something wrong? Frame damage? I really dont think the frame is bent.http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020322.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020323.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020325.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020326.jpg

[mestizo]

Without a tape measure or a caliper those pics really don't show us that it is centered, but it does appear to be centered. I did notice one thing with you pics, one side of the outer tie rod looks to adjusted longer than the other side, but again it's hard to tell without some form of measuring tool to compare to.

[singlecamslam]

I measured everything before i took those pictures, it was actually off by like 1/8 of an inch, after i adjusted that 1/8 inch i had to thread out the passanger side even more.

After that for the hell of it i adjusted the threads to be even on each tie rod, when i did that the tie rod shank would hit the control arm on the passanger side, and driver side was hitting the bump stop too early. Could my rack and pinion be messed up?

[singlecamslam]

Update, so today i spent a few hours measuring the frame according to the FSM. Everything is right on the money. So its not the frame, and the rack is centered. Any ideas?

[negrosx13]

idk man..just a random thought but check if the inner tie rods the same lengh..thats seem to be only thing it could be...

[singlecamslam]

yea i measured them too. i know this rack is bad because i got it for free and its hard to turn, the rack wouldnt cause this problem though right?

[mestizo]

The rack could cause this if the teeth are mangled, but thats not usually the most likely problem. But anything could have happened to that rack before you bought it, so if you have a spare rack pull them out and compare them turn for turn.

[negrosx13]

if you have a spare rack...pop it in there and cross your fingers

[singlecamslam]

Well i dont have a spare one, but someone can sell me one for like 40 bucks.

[singlecamslam]

So i took off my rack and pinion and my cross member. Rack and pinion really seems messed up because its all jittery when i manually turn it so i'm getting another one. As for the cross member here's some pics, it doesnt look bent to me, but should i get another one in case? I'm low on money.http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020366.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020367.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020368.jpg

[airhead]

[QUOTE=singlecamslam;2945239]Ok so i went to look at the car today and the rack was centered right on. I took pictures:
heres the pictures showing that its centered or close to it.http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa37/oldskool916/P1020318.jpg
remove the stock thread locker washer

[singlecamslam]

I did, it doesnt do anything, i just forgot to take it off.

[singlecamslam]

So should i replace the rack and crossmember and see what happends?

[singlecamslam]

Bump, found this little read, passanger side tie rod is longer Technical Articles: 240sx low-buck steering rack angle modification (http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=158892)

Could this be a problem? Running out of ideas here, still need to try a new rack, not sure if i should get a new cross member yet.

[FaLKoN240]

I have never heard of the tie rods being different lengths, nor did I have this problem when I installed them on my car.

[mestizo]

If the inner tie rods have the same part number then they are the same length. My Qsten Z32 inner rods which came from SPL had the same part number and were the same length.

[wangan_cruiser]

never had a problem too installing my spl v2 inner tie rods.


good luck with the fix

[singlecamslam]

God this is so frustrating. Someone let me borrow a rack.

[singlecamslam]

Alright, so i compared my crossmember to a good one, and nothing seems to be out of shape. So the only thing i can think of now is the rack, which i still need to get.

[MELLO*SOS]

Wow this is super frustrating just reading, glad it's not my car.. I have a very similar setup, s13 with s14 lca, s13 b/j and s13 spindle, z32 inners, spl outers, spl tension rods.. But I have never seen the problem you're describing and I can't suggest anything other than the possibility that your inner tie rods are different lengths, or the rack is seriously messed up.

By all means, when you figure this out please update your thread, even if it's some stupid little thing.

Best of luck.

edit: sorry, s13 b/j not 14 lol

[Devens240]

didnt take the time to read all the posts. but your should adjust the tie rods so each end has the same amount of threads showing THEN adjust the wheel.

[palmdale_mob]

I just got these in the mail not too long ago and now looking at this thread this install is making me nervous lol

[s13silvia123]

I just got these in the mail not too long ago and now looking at this thread this install is making me nervous lol

the tie rods should be good but you in the other is probably inexperience installing them will probably make a mistake and then learn the next

[Chernobyl]

The car was crubed before the tie rod install, and i had to replace the control arm,

You said earlier you had S14 control arms. Are you sure you didn't replace the damaged one with an S13 arm?

[LayNLow]

Oh thats a good one, I didnt even catch that. May be the source of his problem. Check it out then update. I am very interested in the problem at hand.

[clark]

You said earlier you had S14 control arms. Are you sure you didn't replace the damaged one with an S13 arm?

i think having an S14 and S13 lca on the same car would make it visually obvious something is wrong given the different lengths...but actually..isn't it only around 5mm..you do make a good point chernobyl.

[ayuaddict]

the ball joint would be different.

so the knuckle or whatever wont work with the LCA.

sounds like the rack is just fucked.

[singlecamslam]

the tie rods should be good but you in the other is probably inexperience installing them will probably make a mistake and then learn the next


I'm not blaming the tie rods, i know they are good, and installing them is fool proof. Like yuta said i think my rack is tore up, because its all jagged when i try to turn it, and it leaks, i will update when i get a new rack, seems like no one has one.

Edit: i have s14 control arms, ball joints, and spindles, just a basic 5 lug swap.

[singlecamslam]

If anyone still cares this problem is fixed, got a used rack and pinion and everything is great. With wheels straight, rack centered, 1 1/2 turns lock to lock with equal tie rod thread. Amen.

[negrosx13]

great to hear man!!

[niteridaz503]

nice to hear man seems like your good to go!!